Air vehicle



I. B. HUMPHREYS AIR VEHICLE Filed Feb. 6, 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 l. B. HUMPHREYS 111R VEIHICLE Filed Feb. 6, 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Get. 1%, 1928. "1,688,186

I. B. HUMPHREYS AIR VEHICLE Filed Feb. 6, 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 l L K i ml 1' R I I )W/ ae/via- I Oct. 16, 1928.

I. B. HUMPHREYS AIR VEHICLE Filed Feb. 6, 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 MI copter and the machine, may

Patented Oct. 16, 1928.

UNITED STATES 1,688,186 PATENT OFFICE;

m n. numr'namrs, or nn'nvaa, commo;

AIR vnnrom.

Application filed reentr v 6, 1924. ser al No. 690,980.

This invention relates to improvements in air vehicles, and is of the heavler-than-air type, constructed to accomplish certain novel provide a boat to glide on the water to obtain the-necessary speed for lifting the machine.

.5 The primary objectof my present inven-' tion is to so construct an air vehicle that whether for the purpose of being used as a land machine, or a marine machine, it may be lifted straight without the necessity of thespeed for flying start, until the desired height is obtained when it is converted into the ordinary type of flying machine, and whereby after the flight has been completed ,it may come down and land straight, and in both instances so gradual as to prevent injury to either the machine or occupants of the machine. So far as I amaware, a com- -mercial machine has never been built which will permit the foregoing results.

" I accomplish these purposes by utilizing theordinary supporting surfaces orwings, the construction being such that these wings are used as a helicopter for lifting the mav chine to the desired height, when the said surfaces or wings are then utilized as is ordinary in the commercial machines now in use; the construction being such that after the flight is completed the supporting surfaces or wings are then converte be slowly lowered to the desired-landing.

So far as I am aware, a machine has not heretofore been commercially constructed to provide for landin vertically and without injury to the mac ne or the occupants in the event that the engine should go dead.

It is one of the object's o'f-my present in- ',vention to so construct the machine that in the ordinar flying, andin the event the engine going ead, and there being no suitable place for theordinary gliding landin to enable the pilot to-so gradually descen that there will not be any injury to thema- A chine, or occupants of the machine. The immediate foregoing obj ect is obtained by so constructing the machine, that of machine into a heli-.

the support planes or wings can be caused to freely rotate as the machine descends, thereby causing a rapid rotation of the supporting wings which will hold the machine in its upright position and prevent it from rap dly falling until within a suitable '.dis

tance of the landing, at which time the operator places the wings at their greatest lifting angle whereby the machine is almost stopped and caused tosettle perfectly easily without breaking any partsor without injury to the occupants By experiments carried on by me, I have found by actual'tests, that the machine in dropping causes the supporting wings to revolve, and then by reversing the angles of the wings to their lifting power, the machine ently settles upon the ground.

My improved machine may be flown as the ordinary airplane by a flying start and a glide landin or it may be used for a straight up ift to the desired height, and

then flown as the ordinary airplane, and

.when the flight is finished, descend and gently settle upon the desired landing place.

Also my improved machine may be flown with the ordinary flying start, and in the event that the engine becomes dead, it can be immediately'converted into a helicopter type and gradually settle'to within a short distance of the landing, when the wings will be reversed to their lifting angle, thereby causing the machine to gently settle without injury to it or the occupants.

The mechanism for carr ing. out the. foregoing results is so arranged trol of the pilot, as will hereinafter-appear.

ing the body or fuselage of the machine against rotationwhen it is being used as a helicopter. Thisis accomplished by providwhich act laterally thereon and prevent it from being rotated under the influence of the rotating lifting surfaces or wings:

that Way b g he pilot to select the place i for landing. J

The foregoin is accomplished through the medium-of the laterally acting propellers at opposite ends of the bodyportion or fuselage ofthe machine, and by roviding an adjustable pitch type of prope er, and by utilizing Inmy machine, I provide means for holdin my improved machine as to be under the immediate con-' ing its opposite ends with small propellers, V

its pivoted rudder to direct the machine as it descends.

Other objects, and other results will be pointed out hereinafter.

. In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved machine, several of the parts being shown in dotted lines.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of my improved ma-. chine, the supporting and idingsurfaces at one side of the machine being broken away.

Fig. '3 is an enlarged sectional view through the middle of my machine, showing the mechanism for carrying out my improvements.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view on the line 4- 4, of 1. c Fig. 5 is an enlarged detached view, showing the universal'joint used in the mechanlsm for controlling the angles of the machine.

In the drawings, I illustrate one mechanical expression involving the improvements, but I desire it to be understood that the de tails for accomplishing the objects may be varied without departing from the spirit and scope of my present improvements.

' Referringv now to the drawings, 1 is the body or fuselage of'the machine, which has at its forward end apropeller 2, for drivin it Under the front portion of themachine, I provide the usual wheels 1, and at the rear end a depending skid 1 which are for landing and for flying, as will be described. Located intermediate the ends of the body-portion 1 is the engine" 3, by means of which the propeller 2 is rotated, and by means of which the main lifting surfaces or wings 4 and 5 are operated, as will be presently described.

It is the object of one part of my present invention to arrange the wings 4 and 5 so.

that they can be rotated to act as a propeller or helicopter for lifting the machine, the said wings'also being capable of oscillation, all of which will be described.

Any desired form of engine can be used 1 and hence, its construction need not be described.

In carrying out my present improvement, I locate in-the body 1, between the drivers cock-pit 6 and the engine 3, a vertical tubular member 7, preferably just in the rear of the engine; This member is suitably fastened rigidly in the body 1 and projects upward sli htly beyond the upper surface of the sai wings 4 and 5. A mast 8 is made rigid with the upper end of the tubular member 7, and projects u Ward a suit-.

upper end of the tube 12, which loosely sur- -tion to be operated by the pilot.

1 1,ess,1ae

rounds thetube 7. These wings or lanes carry spars 13, which extend longitu nally throu h their center, the inner ends of the V spars eing suitably mechanically connected: withacenter structure 14, carried by the,"

points of connection with the wings. It.

will be observed that the wings 4 and 5 are so supported that they may be oscillated, or placed at various angles.

The propeller 2 is driven by means of a drive-shaft 15, which is suitably journaled in the body or housing 1, the said shaft extending rearward and connected with the engine-shaft. A clutch 16 is made fast with the engine-shaft. A sprocket-wheel 17 and beveledear 18 are loose'on the shaft 15. Any sultable means for controlling said clutch will extend back tothe pit 6, in posi- The propeller- 2 is of the adjustable pitch type, whereby it may be set at neutral, and at various .points. I have not shown any form of mechanism foradjustin'g the clutch, be cause any desired form will be used, nor

have I shown any' operating means for the said propeller, since any desired form will be extended within reach of the pilot for his operation.

I have stated that the said tube 12 and-the wings 4 and 5, and the center structure 14 carried by said tube-. are capable of rotation, so that the wings will act as a helicopter. This may be accomplished in various ways. The mechanical expression here shown for carrying out the idea, consists in providing the tube 12 with a sprocket-wheel 19, the said sprocket wheel being connected with a sprocket-wheel 20 carried at the upper end of a vertical shaft 21. The said shaft 21 is suitably journaled in the housing of the body 1 and carries at its lower end a beveled-gear 22, which is in engagement with the beveled gear or pinion 18. From the foregoing it will be 'understood that whenv the clutch 16 is thrown in, the beveled gears 18 and 22 revolve the shaft 21, and its sprocket-wheel 20 around which a sprocket-chain 23 passes the said chain also passes around the sprocket 19, the said means serving to rotate the tube 12, and the wings or planes 4 and 5.

For'the purpose of setting the said wings so that they will act as a helicopter, and for flying straight ahead, I connect with the said wings the upper ends of theconnecting bars 24 and 25, the lower ends of the said bars being connected'with a collar 26. The said-wings are tilted by a collar 27, which is connected with the collar 26. The means provided for raising and lowering setting them. as in an ordinary airplane for the collar 27 for adjusting the wings, consists in attaching to op osite sides of the said collar the upper en s of the depending connecting links 28 and 29, the lower ends.

of said links being pivotally connected with the ends of a frame 30. This frame 30 is intermediately universally supplorted by a umversal bearing 31, whereby t e frame 30 ,30 to swing vertically -onits] pivot 38 for raising and lowering the collars 26 and 27, thereby changing the angles of the said wings, as above described.

It will be observed that the connecting bar 25 has its upper end pivotally connected with the wing 4, at a point. in frontof its spar 13, while the upper end-of the connecting bar 24 is'pivotally connected with the wing 5, in rear of its spar 13, whereby the vertical movement of the collars 26 and 27 causes the wings to move in opposite directions. By this means they can be set at various angles from a maximum lifting angle to the position 4, which position '4 is that assumed by the wings for straightaway flying. This arrangement enables the angle of the wings to be gradually changed from the maximum lifting angles to the flying position 4, and enables said wings to be gradually changed from the flying posltion 4 to the maximum lifting positions to cause themto 'act as a helicopter,

the said adjustments being capable of quick movement, or gradual movement as the conditions to be met'may require. A suitable brake 39 is located at the lower end of the collar 27 and may be caused to engage the said collar by vertical movement. The object of this brake is to afford a braking action on the said collar for stopping the rotation of the wings before they are locked in their fixed positions for fl Located below the'lower face of the brake 39' is a suitable lock 40, by meansof which the wings are locked in their proper positions for straight-away flying. The said brake consists of the parts 41 and 42 with intervening shock-absorbers in the fdrm of rubbers 43, when the lock is moved into position. .As means for moving the lock into position, I show a bell-crank lever 44, pivoted at 45, which has its inner end connected with the lower endof a vertically projecting member 46, havin its up er end connected with a part of t e lock or moving it when the parts are to be locked. This move-. ment is accomplished by the pilot through a vertical lever 47 pivoted at its lower end at 48, and a connecting bar 49, which has its rear end connected to the lever 47, and

its forward end connected to the lower end of the bell-crank lever 44. By operating the lever 47, the pilot can lock the wings into position for straight-away 'liying, or

release the lock when the wmgs are to'be used for a helicopter.

For holding the machine against turning when the wings are revolved to act as a helicopter for lifting the machine, I provide at the rear portion of the body a laterally an acting propeller 50, and at the front end of the body a propeller 51 acting laterally in a direction opposite to that of the propeller 50.. These propellers are rotated through the medium of a longitudinal shaft 52, 5

which is suitably journaled in thefuselage of the machine. The said shaft carries at its opposite ends beveled gears 53, which mesh with beveled gears 54, upon the shafts 55 of the said propellers. Also the shaft a) 52 carries a sprocket-wheel 56around which and the sprocket wheel 17 a sprocket-chain 57 passes, whereby theshaft 52 is rotated, when the clutch 16 is in operative position.

The rear end of the body-1 carries the tail us surfaces 58 and'59. A rudder 60 is hinged to the tail surface 58, upon an inclined pivot or hin e 61, and this rudder is controlled by cab cs 62, which extend inward and are connected to opposite ends of a foot-oper- You ated member 63. This foot operated member 63 is controlled by the feet of the pilot .for steering the machine.

Horizontally arranged elevators 64 have their forward edges pivotally connected with 165 the rear edges of the tail-surfaces 59. These elevators are raised and lowered by the pilot throu h the operation of the bridge-control 34. he bridge-control 34 swin s on a pivot 65, and its lower end has the orward end no pivotally connected with a rearwardly extending bar 66. The rearward end of the bar 66 is pivotally connected with an arm 60, depending from a bar- 60", which extends across the machine, the ends of the bar llfi projecting through the machine and is centrally connected with vertical bars 67. The cables 68 extend rearward from the ends of the bars 67, and are crossed and connected with the ends of laterally extending bars 69, whereby the pilot can control the horizontal line of'flight by moving the'brldgecontrol 34 backward and forward.

WVhen the machine'is to be used as a helicopter, the propeller 2 is placed in neutral 12.",

position, and the wings 4 and?) are placed at the desired angle for lifting the machine, and the clutch 16 thrown in operative po sition for'rotating the member 12, which carries the central part 14 and the wings 4 and 13:

to cause forward movement.

5. When the machine has reached the de- I is due to the fact that the wing on one side will move towards the direction of movement of the machine, while at the opposite side will move away from that direction. Consequently, one wing will possess a greater lift, and that side of the machine will be. raised above the other. It is necessary to correct this, otherwise the machine would turn over. I avoid this action by providing means which will serve to decrease the lift of the wing having a tendency to raise one side of the machine, and increase the 'lift of the other wing. I accomplish this result by changing the angles of the wings to cause a uniform lift, thereby balancing the lifting effect of the wings. This 'result is accomplished through the medium of the frame 30, by tilting on its universal bearing 31. This will'pull the collar 27 down on one side and correspondingly lift the other side until the equilibrium is obtained. When the collar 27. is thus moved, the collar 26 will correspond to the angular adjustment, so that the angles of the-wings will automatically vary at opposite sides of the machine, the increase in the lifting power being on the proper side of the machine and the decrease on the other side of the machine. It will be observed that the angular movement of the collar need be only slight,

.because it increases the lifting power at one side and decreases it at the opposite side.

' The said collars aremade sufliciently loose upon thetube 12 to enable them to have this 1 angular adjustment. The pilot accomplishes this angular adjustment by means of the bridge-control 34. The lower end of the bridge-control 34 is connected with the frame 30, through the medium of a bar 70,

. which has .its forward end connected with the -lower end of the bell-cranklever 71,

the upper end of the said lever being 0011-.

nected to the lower end of a bar 72, and the upper end of 'the bar 72 connected to the outer end of a bar 37 3. In this manner the frame 30 is rocked for the purpose of bringing about the angular adjustments of the collars 26 and 27; A longitudinal slot 74 .is formed in the rear end of the bar 70, whereby the'b'ridge-control 34 may be moved through anappreciable angle before operating the bar 70, enabling the elevators to be adjusted as may be desired before bringing into play the angular adjustment forthe purpose of controlling the Wings.

By reason of the an ular adjustment of the collars described, the wings have their lifting angle changed, whereby each wing has a greater and a less lifting power at opposite sides of the machine as it revolves,

the increase of the lifting power being on precedingdescription, that when the wings 75 4 and 5 are act-in as a helicopter theilatterally acting prope lers 50 and 51 are in operation, which prevents the machine from rotating under the influence of the rotation of the wings.

' Operation. v

The aircraft which is herein described is capable of use in various ways. may be set. and the-machine used as an ordinary airplane. That is to say, with the wings in the position indicated by P an ordinary flying start may be taken from the field, and when it is desired to land, it may be landed by gliding as in the ordinary airplane.

The mechanism described may be used simply as a safety device. That is to say, if when flying the engine should go dead, then the pilot may set the wings at angles for the maximum lift and release the lock so that restrained in its downward movement until it is near the landing, at which moment the pilot will reverse the angle of the planes so that theumomentum .of the wings will be exerted for a maximum. lift, whereby it will gently settle without injury to the machine or to the occupants. When the wings are acting as above described, they are revolving entirely free and independent of the engine by means of an'ordinary over-running clutch 7 5, which connects the sprocketwheel 20 with the shaft 21. Thisarrangement enable the Wings to freely rotate as a helicopter and act as a brake to restrain the machine in its fall, and permits the wings to continue to rotate after they have been reversed to a maximum lifting position for gently landing The mechanism also enables the machine to be used as a helicopter for lifting it to the desired height, at which moment the drive between the engine and the wings is broken, apply the brake 39, whereby the revolution is stopped and throw in the'lock 40. The pilot will then adjust the propeller 2 for driving the machine, when it will quickly gain sufficient speed for the ordinary flight. When the machine is operated in this last mentioned manner, it will not be necessary to change the angle of the collars 27 and 26 The wings 1 pilot will release the clutch 16 so that the to meet the conditions which would arise by driving the .machine forward during the timethe wings are acting as a helicopter..

cause the aircraft to correspondingly turn,

The craft may also be operated by using the helicopter for ascent until the proper height is obtained, at which time the wings and the propeller will be set for forward flight, and when the flight is completed, then the machine will be brought over the point that it is desired to descend, at which time the pilot will unlock the wings and throw them to act as a helicopter being driven by the engine, whereby the. machine may descend according to the desire of the pilot, by regulating the speed of the engine and, consequently the speed of the helicopter to make the landing at the desired point. While the machine is descending, its direction may be controlled by operating the rudder 60, whereby'the air will strike it and while it-is descending.

It will be observed from the description that the laterally acting propellers 50 and 51 are always thrown into operation when the engine is driving the helicopter, for the purpose of preventing the machine from turning.

By means of the above-described and shown mechanism, the danger of falling by reason of the stopping of the engine is removed, because in that event the wings can be converted into a helicopter, which will control the descent of the machine, whereby it will ently fall to its place of rest, the said tall being additionally retarded by reversing the angles of the said wings, so thatthere will be a maximum lift just before the machine strikes its place ofrest. I

The details of construction for controlling the parts can be varied. Many of them are conventional. My improvements will be embodied, however, in any machine that is within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Having, thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is I 1. An aircraft comprising a body portion having an upwardly projecting mast, a collar surrounding the said mast, wings adjustable at opposite angles projecting laterally from opposite sides of the collar, the mast projecting above the said collar, and braces extending from the upper portion of the mast with their outer ends journaled intermediatcly to the said wings to permit them being turned, and an engine adapted to be connected with the said wings, for the purpose described.

2. An aircraft comprising a body portion having an upwardly projecting mast, a collar surrounding the said mast, laterally projecting wings journalled to the said mast, the mast projecting above the said wings adjustable at opposite angles, and braces extending in opposite directions from the upper portion of the mast with their outer ends intermediately journalled to the said wings to permit them being turned, and an signature.

IRA BOYD HUMPHREYS. 

